A reindustrialization agenda that requires cross-cutting political deals rather than a green objective

As many readers know, the Election Commission continues Maximize the value of production with minimal use of virgin resourcesMinimizing environmental impact (e.g. reducing GHG emissions, biodiversity conservation) 5 Best Practices:

• Saves resources and application Renewable resources (eg, eco-design; auto parts based on bio-derivatives)
• The Assessment Waste (eg, plastics, used parts remanufactured into new vehicles, construction with recycled materials, “urban mining” to recover important minerals from household products).
• The Shelf life extension (eg cars, mobile phones, appliances) through modular design, new long-life products and predictive maintenance.
• He Product as a Service (e.g. capital goods, furniture, clothing) allows extending the useful life.
• He Shared Application (eg second-hand resale sites for mobility, consumer goods).

Both the EU and Member States have launched CE initiatives with measurable targets and programs (Spain: EEEC2030, Waste Law 2022, Strategic Plans for Economic Recovery and Transformation – PERTE -, Extended Guarantee Regulations).

Although CE is perceived as a “green” agenda, in reality, its promotion makes more or less sense. A perspective on reindustrialization Promotion of medium and high paying jobs.

By way of examples; The energy trade deficit is estimated at 52,000 million euros in 2022, 4% of GDP. In such an environment, Energy conservation and generation of synthetic fuels from waste Urban and industrial, apart from the obvious environmental benefits, are of immense importance from the point of view of employment and value creation. On the other hand, the EU expects the EC to create 700,000 jobs in the coming years (Waste management and treatment measures, useful life extension, eco-design and applied R+D+i etc.)

Currently between A Between 34% and 82% of Spanish companies (depending on the sector) already carry out CE activities And have related goals. Additionally, the majority believe that within the next 3 years, 5 EC models will be commercial machines.

However, companies are warning Barriers to change. between External barriers More importantly, they point out; underdeveloped markets for circular goods and commodities; regulations, aid and incentives that inhibit CE’s profitability; Waste collection and recovery infrastructures of inadequate quantity and quality and insufficient public procurement.

between Internal barriers very important; Sustainability of traditional business models (with short-term vision), lack of feasibility and training of CE and related technologies.

Between 34% and 82% of Spanish companies (depending on the sector) already carry out CE activities and have related objectives.

He The latest project “Circular Economy Spain” By Jaime Ferrer, Funseam (Joan Batalla, Manuel Villa), Tecnocampus (Mar Isla), UPC Sustainability Chair (Jordi Morató, Brent Villanueva), Accenture (Nino Herreria, Alvaro Remon) focused on 11 sectors (with more than 100 collaborations) companies and administrations ), highlighted the need Bet on 4 axes of change To achieve cost-effective implementation at CE scale.

While some of the measures recommended by organizations and authors have been included in recently approved legislation, others are not yet:

1) Authority circular request (e.g. mandatory eco-labelling, legal classification of recovered waste, mandatory quotas to increase recycled content, public procurement with EC criteria, extension of sectoral agreements on producer responsibility to all missing sectors – e.g. automotive, consumer goods, textiles, construction – )
2) Authority Circular offer Circular targets, direct aid and favorable taxation of CE profits through public-private programs in all key sectors (e.g. VAT rebates for CE goods and extended goods, rebates for businesses and circular investments in Sweden and other countries).

3) Open it Disruptions in R+D+i Accelerates investment Focus on SMEs, 4.0 technologies (e.g. IoT and AI for modular design, robotics for component replacement, “blockchain” for traceability, circular material banks, near-3D manufacturing), as well as collection and recovery technologies (emphasis on complex recycling; e.g. plastics, composites, textile fibers, synthetic fuels) and in the development of new materials (eg bio-derivatives).
4) Authority Cross infrastructures (For example, a state network of waste treatment centers with the necessary capacity and qualities to comply with EEEC2030, last mile connected intermodal transport and logistics networks, intelligent and collective energy networks).

To make EC a true reindustrialization vector, Simultaneous sectoral and cross-level interventions are necessary, requiring public-private collaboration, properly designed; Objective metrics, agile management and mixed resources (and focus on SMEs)

Opportunities and Sectoral Risks

To highlight its importance, it is worth noting Opportunities and risks With some examples:

Automotive sector. As many readers know, Spain is the 2nd European producer of vehicles and accessories. Since an electric motor has very few components, As well as being an opportunity, the EV also poses a threat. Therefore, in favor of switching to EV, switching to CE (e.g. reprocessing used parts, converting used VCI into EVs, recycling plastics, R&D on new materials) is an industrial imperative and not just an environmental one.

For example, in addition to mastering EV technologies, China has declared the “remanufacturing” of cars as a priority and strategic move.. In turn, France has actively promoted the conversion of used combustion vehicles to electric vehicles (through strong tax breaks).

In favor of switching to EV, switching to CE creates not only an industrial and environmental imperative

In the same way, change Construction Department The move towards an industrialized building (based on recyclable components and materials) is not simply an “ecological” option, but a weapon of reindustrialization and Improving the quality of work (Industrialized construction, in addition to being more sustainable, shifts much of the work to industry, relies on more sophisticated technologies than traditional jobs, and thus creates higher quality jobs).

It contains Food sectorA tool, apart from an industrial vector, with the opportunity to assess biowaste in the same sector or in symbiosis with other sectors (e.g. pharmaceuticals, textiles, vegetable leather) Development of “Empty Spain”.

Also, the Eco-sustainable tourism Supported by local food and sustainable construction, it acts as a revitalization activity for depopulated areas, increasing the value added by the sector. In the case Water cycleThe need for circular management (its recovery for various uses) is clear for environmental reasons (Spain is undergoing a desertification process) and for economic reasons (our fruit and vegetable sector is the most important in Europe).

In turn, expansion Textiles and Footwear The Spanish benefit from innovative eco-design using fabrics based on recovered fibers and bioderivatives, allowing differentiation from international competition.

Further, Recycling plastics is a lever of growing industrialization.

The urgency of cross-cutting political consensus

Although approved sectoral PERTEs include CE targets (and cross-sectional PERTEs for CE are also approved), they are still not sufficiently fast-paced. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the annual investment rate in the next legislature.

Regardless of the political color of the next government, constituencies represented in Congress agreeing to intensify the push for reindustrialization as a key to the circular economy will be critical to the nation’s economy.

Without such effort, Our companies will lose internal and external market sharesEU regulations impose increasing environmental and recycled content requirements.

A challenge is presented to companies and public administrations (central and regional administrations and employers are equally urgent to coordinate in this regard).

*Jaime Ferrer Marets He is an entrepreneur, coordinator of the EC Spain 2022 project and EADA professor